


grumpy cat and auntie anne's

by casdoms (moffwithhishead)



Series: season 10 codas [12]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Episode Tag, Episode: s10e20 Angel Heart, Gen, M/M, dean and cas go to hot topic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-30
Updated: 2015-04-30
Packaged: 2018-03-26 10:32:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,763
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3847630
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/moffwithhishead/pseuds/casdoms
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dean bends over to read the name of the store (and Cas does not point out his proximity to the map or the amount and intensity that he squints - because he’s a gentleman) and groans, “Really?” </p><p>He stands up straight again and gives Cas an imploring, slightly desperate look, “Really??” </p><p>“It’s a store that is marketed and stocked to appeal to humans ranging from age twelve to twenty-seven, Dean,” Castiel informs him smugly. “If anybody will have something that Claire will like, it will be Hot Topic.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	grumpy cat and auntie anne's

**Author's Note:**

> DON'T GIVE ME THAT LOOK, OKAY??? IT JUST HAPPENED. THE EPISODE WAS OVER AND MY BRAIN WAS LIKE "HEY, WRITE THIS. DO IT RIGHT NOW. THIS SECOND." SO I DID.
> 
> spoilers, duh. dean misses auntie anne's pretzels. cas is out of his depth.

“Cas, I’m pretty damn sure she’s not expecting a present from you,” Dean grumbles but follows his friend into the mall easily. 

“So?” Cas huffs in annoyance and narrows his eyes at Dean, “It’s her eighteenth birthday, Dean. She deserves to have presents.” 

Dean rolls his eyes before holding the door open for Cas, “Oh my god, fine, fuck you, whatever. Let’s go find her a damn present.” 

The soccer mom with her kids in tow gives Dean a dirty look as she walks through the door and he smiles sheepishly in response, the tips of his ears growing hot. 

When he turns around, Cas is standing there with a smug look.

“Shut the fuck up,” Dean grumbles as he brushes past Cas, purposefully shoving him a little harder than necessary. 

“I didn’t say anything,” Cas hums in response, and he doesn’t have to look to know that the angel is smiling.

He pretends that it doesn’t make him smile either. 

Dean moves over to the directory, looking and feeling more than a little out of place in the busy Tulsa mall, “So. Birthday present for a teenage girl whose dad you half killed, half kidnapped, and inadvertently ruined her whole life - where do we start?” 

He flashes Cas a smile when he sees the murderous glare his best friend is aiming at him, “Oh come on dude, lighten up. She hasn’t killed you yet.” 

“A resounding endorsement, I’m sure,” Cas replies dryly and shoves Dean out of the way so he can get a better look at the map. Normally Dean would complain about being manhandled but hey, retribution and all that. 

Cas is only a couple inches away from the directory, his eyes squinted to almost the point of disappearing. When Cas moves his head away and then closer again, something occurs to Dean that startles a laugh out of him.

“Dude,” he covers his mouth with a hand for a moment before asking in between giggles, “Do you need  _glasses_?” 

If it’s possible, Castiel’s cheeks darken a little and he shoots Dean another murderous glare. He opens his mouth a few times to retort but when nothing comes out, he just grumbles a petulant, “...shut up,” before looking back at the map. 

Dean practically howls with laughter and the people around them stop to stare at him. He’s practically bent in half, his head thrown back and his hands clutching his sides, and  _jesus christ,_  he hasn’t laughed like this in a long ass time. 

Castiel, for his part, ignores the other man, trying to figure out which stores would have the highest probability of carrying a gift that Claire would like. 

When Dean calms down he leans against the corner of the directory, less than a foot away from Cas, “Oh man, dude. That’s great.”

“I’m so glad my age is amusing to you,” he hums in response and moves the other man’s jacket out of the way.

“Weren’t you the one who said it was about time you had a midlife crisis because you were, and I quote, ‘quite old’?” Dean smirks when Cas looks up at him and wiggles his eyebrows a little.

It warms something in Cas to see Dean joking like this so openly, smiling so honestly, that he can’t really find it in himself to be annoyed. 

Instead, he points at a spot on the map with a triumphant smile, “There.” 

Dean bends over to read the name of the store (and Cas does not point out his proximity to the map or the amount and intensity that he squints - because he’s a  _gentleman_ ) and groans, “Really?” 

He stands up straight again and gives Cas an imploring, slightly desperate look, “ _Really??_ ” 

“It’s a store that is marketed and stocked to appeal to humans ranging from age twelve to twenty-seven, Dean,” Castiel informs him smugly. “If anybody will have something that Claire will like, it will be Hot Topic.” 

Dean just stares blankly at him for a minute before sighing and running a hand over his face, “Ugh... jesus christ. Fine, okay, let’s -” He sighs again and looks up at the ceiling, gesturing at nothing in a defeated manor, “Let’s go to fucking Hot Topic.” 

Cas’ whole face lights up and he grabs Dean’s wrist, tugging him in the right direction, “I believe it is this way.” 

 

* * *

 

It takes them a while to find the store.

Cas is adamant that it’s Dean’s fault but, listen okay --  _Auntie Anne’s_. It was the biggest fucking stand he’d ever seen, okay? And the pretzels -

“ _Oh man_ ,” Dean groans around a bite of jalapeno pretzel, “Oh fuck, I missed these.” 

“They’re just pretzels, Dean,” Cas sighs, rolling his eyes a little bit as he rounds the corner and  _finally_  spots the Hot Topic sign. 

Dean squawks a little bit and a piece of pretzel flies out of his mouth, landing on Cas’ shoulder. His eloquent and mature reply is muffled because of the gigantic bite of pretzel in his mouth, “ _You shut your drunk mouth, asshole._ ” 

He follows Cas into the store blindly and feels momentarily assaulted by the music that’s playing rather loudly. 

He’s starting to back out of the store slowly when Cas reaches out and grabs his wrist again, giving him those stupid sad puppy eyes. The fucker doesn’t even say anything, he just - he just gives Dean  _that_  look.

And he’s absolutely toast.

“Oh my god,” Dean groans quietly and moves forward into the store more, “Fine fine, I’ll suffer so you can guilt shop.” 

Castiel nods and lets Dean’s wrist drop but he stays close (close even by Cas standards). He is, apparently, genuinely nervous about this little excursion.

Dean takes another bite of his pretzel and watches his friend for a moment while he considers if he’s just reading too much into this or if the Mark is giving him a legit leg up on Cas’ feelings.

The way that Cas practically jumps out of his skin when the sales girl comes over to ask if they need anything confirms that yes, Castiel, Angel of the Lord and ex-deity, is intimidated by Hot Topic.

The thought makes Dean grin.

“I, um -” Cas looks at him with a silent plead for help on how exactly to answer the girl’s question. 

He’s a lot better about knowing what’s appropriate to share with humans now than he was in the past but this whole thing has him flustered and apparently, Cas is coming up blank. 

“Hey,” Dean steps in and grins at the teenager, “My friend here is looking for a present for his...” He pauses for a beat and finally settles on, “Niece.” 

The girl perks up and grins at them, “Oh, awesome! How old is she?” 

“Um,” Cas stammers for a second, “Eighteen. Or. Well, she’ll, uh -” 

Again, Dean steps in, and this time sets a hand on the small of Cas’ back, “Sorry, he’s nervous. It’s the first time they’ve seen each other in years and he’s tryna’ make it up to her, y’know?” 

He takes the last bite of his pretzel and resists the urge to pout that it’s gone before flashing the girl another grin, “She’s turning eighteen tomorrow.” 

She nods understandingly and smiles at Dean, “Gotcha.” She turns to look at Cas with a gentler smile, “Do you know what your niece is into?” 

Castiel blinks for a moment and frowns, trying to think, “Ah...” 

Again, he looks to Dean for help, but this time he’s met with a shit-eating grin.

“Eye liner?” Cas tries after a moment.

The sales girl and Dean both give him pitiful ‘oh, honey’ looks before she straightens up, “Ok, we have make up, but something tells me that’s not the kinda present you’re looking for... unless you want to buy her  _all_  of our make up.” 

Cas’ eyes light up for a moment and Dean immediately shakes his head, “No, dude.” 

He pouts a little bit before turning to look at the girl again, “She likes angry music... and rebellion.” 

She frowns a little bit, “So you’re looking for Hot Topic in 2005...?” 

Dean finally steps in again and smiles at the girl, hoping she gets that they just need something, “Cas hasn’t really been in her life for a long time, like I said, so we’re not really sure what she likes. Just know that she’s eighteen, a tough kid, wears hoodies a lot and has a habit of hanging out with the wrong crowd.” 

“She likes cats,” Cas adds after a beat.

Both Dean and the sales girl turn to look at him in sync, their faces almost identical in the ‘where the fuck did that come from’ expression.

He resists the urge to blush again, “I... remembered that she likes cats. She had a cat when she was younger.” 

Jimmy’s memories have faded since he went to heaven, but some of them are still there, and they still linger in the back of Cas’ mind. He can see it clear as a bell - a little blonde girl coming home from her first day at school with the meanest looking kitten Jimmy had ever seen.

“His name was Gus,” Cas continues with a nod. “I believe they named him that because he was grumpy.” He blinks at the confused faces staring back at him, “As in the colloquialism for a person who is grumpy. A Grumpy Gus.” 

The sales girl nods slowly, the information seeming to work through her head, “Um... okay...” She turns around to look at the rest of the store, mentally running through what they had in stock.

Dean turns to Cas and mouths ‘what the fuck?’ He just shrugs helplessly in response. 

“OH!” She squeaks a little bit and jumps instead of just turning around, “Oh, wait, I think we might actually have something!” 

She grins at them before grabbing Cas’ wrist and yanking him towards the back of the store.

Apparently she caught him off guard because he tripped over something and barely managed to catch himself before they both face-planted in the middle of the busy store. 

Dean follows behind them with an amused, easy grin on his face.

He’s not sure if he’s ever seen Cas this flustered. It’s kinda cute. 

“TADA!” She exclaims when they get to a specific part of the wall display, “The purrr-fect gift!” 

Dean cringes at the joke and looks up at the wall before groaning, loudly, “Oh my god. There’s fucking Grumpy Cat  _merchandise_  now?” 

Juliet (Dean finally noticed the badge hanging around her neck) rolls her eyes a little, “I know but viral bullshit sells, dude. And besides -” She turns around and grins widely at Cas, “This sounds like the  _perfect_  gift for your niece.” 

Cas is eyeing the different sizes of the stuffed, angry looking cat, as well as the t-shirts surrounding it, with the same expression he eyes demons and monsters.

“I don’t know,” Dean cautions a little, watching Cas’ face warily, “Isn’t eighteen kinda old for a stuffed animal?” 

Juliet snorted, “Trust me dude, everything ends up being a plushie at some point and when it does we sell the crap out of them. To  _everyone_.” 

Cas reaches out and grabs one of the medium sized ones, running his fingers over the fur gently.

“Yeah but she’s -” Dean tries to figure out a more PC way to say ‘technically homeless and an orphan and also kind of a badass’ without making Juliet think she needs to call child services on somebody. 

“I like this,” Cas interrupts him before he can finish. 

The corner of Dean’s mouth quirks up involuntarily, and he actually feels an overwhelming amount of fondness overtake him at the moment, “Oh yeah? You like the little grumpy fucker, buddy?” 

“Yes,” Cas says a little bit more decisively, a small smile on his face, “I do.” 

He looks up at the girl with a grin, “And I think Claire will like it too. Thank you very much, Juliet. You have been very helpful.” 

He’s so sincere about it that it makes her blush and rub the back of her neck uncomfortably, “Ah, ‘s... no problem.” 

Dean clears his throat and gestures to some other people walking through the door, trying to give her an out, “Look, there’s some more people who need your expertise, kiddo.” 

She gives him a grateful look and wishes Cas good luck before hurrying up to the front door again and greeting people.

It’s fine; Dean remembers what it was like the first ten or twelve times Cas was so earnest and grateful about something so small. It’s intense and awkward as hell to be on the receiving end of that. 

He sets a hand on Cas’ lower-back again and guides him towards the checkout line, which is mercifully short.

It only takes them a good ten minutes for Cas to get up to the register, pay, decline a bag and then go across the way into the Hallmark store to buy a bag to put the thing in. 

Dean just follows his friend around with a fond smile, well aware of how smitten he must look right now. 

It’s totally worth it when they get back in the car and Cas lets out a breath of air with a small grin on his face.

“What do you think, man?” Dean asks as he starts the Impala up, “You think you’ve got a winner in there? Make her forget all the bad shit that’s happened?” 

Castiel squints at the side of his head, but he’s still grinning when he answers, “ _No_ , but I do think that I’ve found a gift that she will appreciate.” 

Dean chuckles a little and lets Cas flip on the radio, “Whatever you say, dude.” 

 

* * *

 

It’s the cat. It’s the god damned Grumpy fucking Cat sitting in her bag.

Dean looks up and shoots her a half unimpressed, half surprised look, “ _Really_?”

Claire blushes and looks away without answering, which is an answer in and of itself. Dean feels a slight swell of fondness for her in his chest, and he lets the subject drop.

For now.

He helps Claire into the cab and walks Sam to the Impala, getting ready to leave before he notices that Cas is still standing there, watching the car leave.

Dean mentally groans and tells Sam he’ll be back in a minute before walking over to Cas and bumping their shoulders together, “You need a tissue?” 

Cas turns his head and scowls at Dean, “Why would I need a tissue?”

“Cause you look like you’re gonna cry,” he supplies helpfully with a shrug, keeping his eyes on the road where Cas was looking.

Sue him if he’s worried too, okay?

“I am not going to...” Cas hesitates for a minute, willing himself not to blush, “ _Cry_. I am just...” He clears his throat and looks up at Dean again, “I am. Concerned.” 

Dean flashes him an easy smile (and it really  _is_  easy this time), “Aw, look at that.” He reaches out and pats Cas’ cheek, “You’re all grown up.” 

Cas just narrows his eyes at Dean more and doesn’t move away from the hand, “I don’t understand.” 

“Don’t worry about it, Cas,” he chuckles and squeezes his friend’s shoulder as he moves his hand away. “Come on. Sammy and I were thinking about grabbing some food before heading home. We’re buying.” 

He knows what Cas is going to say before he even opens his mouth.

“I know that you don’t need to eat, dude,” Dean huffs a little bit. “Maybe I just want to hang out with you some more.” 

Cas’ face softens and he ducks his head, hiding a tiny smile on his face, “I... suppose I could accompany you.” 

Dean grins a little bit and claps his hands together, “Great!” 

He throws an arm over Cas’ shoulders and turns them so they’re walking back towards the Impala, “So, Claire liked the present you got her.” 

“Oh?” 

“Stowed the little shit away in her duffel and everything.” 

Cas smiles and rests against Dean a little bit, because he can, because he’s still nervous and his presence is comforting, “Good. I’m glad.” 

Dean moves his arm away when they’re next to the Impala and starts to walk over to the other side.

“Dean?”

He looks up at Cas, who’s hesitating with the back door open, “Yeah?” 

Castiel grins, “I told you she would like it,” before getting in the car.

Dean lets out a surprised laugh and slides into the driver’s seat, “Shut up, asshole, or you’re buying.” 


End file.
